In Britain "lunch ladies", "dinner ladies" or "tuckshop ladies" IS what the women who serve the food at the school canteen are called. He wasn't being insulting. Maybe just a cultural blunder.

I am interested in watching this but I hope it doesn't get too preachy. That turns people off and then they just shrug and keep doing things the way they have been done for so long.

As a parent, I know it can be tricky to feed your kids healthy. I've found the best way is too restrict certain things and give in to other things on the weekends or occasionally. I also find with my kids that if I peel and clean a fresh raw carrot and hand it to them, they eat it. If I don't have chips, soda, etc in the house it is a lot easier to get them to try something healthy.

Read this: http://bitchphd.blogspot.com/2010/03/if-only-poor-were-more-like-me.html

An amazing commentary. Just Brilliant.

I’m sure they’re embarrassed about their new statistic, and it seemed to fuel a lot of defensiveness. Poor Jamie was interpreted all-wrong by the school, lunch staff, and radio host.

I think the show's stupid, condescending and offensive.

I watched the preview--it was preachy, but it was great. I think Americans need some outsider to come along and give this reality check.

If an American were saying what Jamie's saying in this show, they'd be written off as a food elitist (as most of the other 'revolutionary' writers, such as Pollan and Waters). Even just Jamie's preaching "Change" (such a loaded word after the Obama campaign) in this conservative area would be impossible for a liberal American.

I was surprised how unwilling this school was to change AND what they were serving!! You have to know it's wrong to serve that kind of food. Pizza for breakfast?! Just one of the reasons I don't let my kids buy school lunches.
I think the "cooks" were scared for their jobs and that is why they came off so defensive.
You can watch the episode at huluhttp://www.hulu.com/watch/136381/jamie-olivers-food-revolution-episode-101

I have never seen any science indicating this generation should expect shorter lifespans; the CDC shows that deaths from "obesity related" causes have decreased or remained steady since 2004. (Obesity related, to the CDC, by the way, in some cases means, you're a heavy person and you get killed by a car crash - the CDC exaggerated obesity statistics by 400X in a notable episode. Still, sadly, they are some of the most reliable national data we have.)

I do believe Americans eat a lot of food which is just plain not good - tasting, for you, or in any way. But we've never had perfect nutrition (see: wartime restrictions, times when canned was preferred to fresh, breastfeeding was discouraged). So it's not like we've veered into more unnutrition than in some ideal past. I am happy to encourage healthier eating - and food that TASTES better. But I disagree with the OOGA BOOGA fat fearmongering.

I appreciated that Bitch PhD link too. But the people Jamie's dealing with in W. Va. are poor, but not poverty-stricken. Their kitchens looked reasonably functional--they certainly had fridges and freezers. And the cafeteria kitchen is totally kitted out--so no excuse there!

I agree with Zlo, after reading the Bitch PhD link. The differences in the living conditions between urban poor and rural/small town poor can be quite dramatic. There were small enclaves in the counties surrounding me in my home state of WV where cardboard walls, maybe no fridge, and using the stove for heat in the winter because there's too much creosote in the wood stove chimney, but I think these were the poverty-stricken minority to the upper lower class / lower middle class majority. EVERYTHING is a 30 minute drive away, including most jobs and all of the grocery stores, so that's quite the difference.

Further, in my school growing up, 40% of the kids were on free or reduced lunches and breakfasts. Change a system that supplies 2/3 of kid's food intake for a day and you've changed a lot, and every school kitchen has ample amounts of refrigeration and cooking space, so Bitch Phd's points don't really apply, as Zlo pointed out.

I haven't seen Jamie's show, though. I will say that the food in our school's is a disaster, and a pet peeve of mine. I have no easy solutions though, as I'm positive the food is a direct result of the budget allowed them and not personal preference.

Jamie did a show called "Jamie's School Dinners" in the UK, and there has been a noticeable improvement in school catering, at least in my area, in the past few years. Whether that's down to Jamie or a general increased awareness of/interest in healthy eating, I don't know.

The big "moment" in the show was something called the "Turkey Twizzler" - a fat-filled, fat-covered, mess of mechanically-reclaimed turkey that was being served in schools. I'm willing to bet that after he went through exactly what was in those things, no school in the UK ever served them again.

The BitchPHD link is interesting - but Jamie Oliver is not going to the projects and telling them not to eat KFC. he's going to schools that are receiving taxpayer money and educating them about better food choices instead of just what's easy.

My family grew up poor as well - my parents grew a large garden every year and canned the surplus. We ate that instead of take out and I will be forever grateful to them for providing me with a basic education about eating healthful foods.

Just because you're poor doesn't mean your only choices are chicken nuggets. I think that's a defeatist attitude.

It's Hollywood. Food Inc. and Fast Food Nation are obviously Hollywood too. The Monsanto and the corn growers hcfs ads are Hollywood too. Tugging on people's emotions through tv is obviously very effective.

I think Jamie's mission is bigger than Hollywood. This series is sort of like an advert for replacing junkfood in schools with real food. Just like Food Inc. was an elementary primer on the state of our food system.

There's a war going on right now between the industries that are currently feeding us and those who believe in change. The same industries that are feeding us, that are feeding the schools aren't going anywhere soon and are indirectly guiding our food policy. Those industries are supplying the schools with their menus which consist of all of their ultra-processed products.

Schools only have one option--serve these processed foods. Ironically, kids have lots of choices now--choose from a variety of processed foods at their school meals. @jbull mentioned that she plays a part in her children's healthy diets by restricting certain things at home. By preparing fresh food, her kids are more willing to eat it. Schools, which are supposed to be places of discipline, do not restrict unhealthy foods they make them the only choice and they do not prepare fresh food in an attempt to make it appealing to kids.

Good eating habits should be learned at home as Oliver is preaching. Unfortunately, we've broken our habit of cooking at home. Teaching kids good eating habits at school and how to identify and cook food at school will arm them with real life skills that will shape their own eating habits and will be passed on to their kids and so on.

I say, what's wrong with showing the negative aspects of these foods and then phasing them out with real fresh foods prepared by skilled food professionals? Yes, this will take decades but you've got to start somewhere and Jamie has decided to start in W. Virginia.

A lot of people can't really get their heads around what food means in this country. I'll admit that I know more about food and less about other things but will say that conventional food business is not really about food--it's about selling units. If you go to a foodservice trade show this will become very apparent. Everything that you saw in that family's house on Food Revolution can be bought at a foodservice trade show and it's those types of preserved, fatty and salty products that are also supplied to schools. If you are appalled at the way that family ate, then you should be appalled at what the schools are serving.

Remembering the horrible food served in my elementary school cafeteria, I hope Jamie fulfills his mission.

I watched the first part of this show and was pretty annoyed. He seemed to be blaming everything on the cafeteria workers, but change like this needs to come at a much much higher level. 10 bucks says the lunch cooks are given a menu of what they'll be serving every day (or are allowed to pick from a few options) and that's that. I thought he came off incredibly condescending and wasn't at all surprised that the cooks took to him poorly (although I didn't see the end of the episode so I have no idea if they came around in the end). This is all for show, if he really cared about changing the way kids at school ate there are a milion better ways to do so.

amers230 - I don't want all million, but can you list 10 or 20 of the better ways?

Really, I'm not trying to be snarky by asking that question, merely asking for the ways that this effort can be done better.

I liked Jamie when he was doing the Naked Chef show years back and actually just cooked food. Then he just turned into an over the top organic, healthy and gonna tell you what's good for you whether you want him to or not celebrichef. Granted, our country isn't the healthiest in terms of food, but you don't see Rachael Ray hopping a plane to England and getting in schoolkids faces telling them essentially they're fatties. It just seems condescending and rude.

I commend him for the work he has done, and hope he opens the eyes of many people. I am horrified with the food my daughter's school serves and feel this is a step in the right direction. Jamie FTW!

I'm so glad this is coming to the US. I used to watch the UK version and he faced probably the same amount of resistance but it did make a difference. Things need to change people. I talked to the person in our district who decides on school lunches and she talked about how frustrating it was to try to get healthy food in the schools because of national and state specifications.I do understand the difficulties, budgetary and health related, but really, something has to be done.
Go Jamie!

The big problem with the quality of food served to kids in schools is money. On NPR, they interviewed some lunch ladies (seriously, what do they think they should be called?) and they all sounded heartbroken by the tiny amount of money per meal they were supposed to make do with. It's something like 40 cents per child. I challenge anyone to come up with fresh, organic, healthy food for such a pittance!

I am ALL FOR promoting healthy food in schools, at home (where it really starts), in this nation. But until our priorities change, we won't increase taxes to help pay for healthier food in the schools.

People like Jamie Oliver and Michelle Obama have very good intentions, but have gone about them in a way that is bound to garner disrespect and and apathy. Instead of trying to shame people into losing weight, and making obesity the enemy, they should have been focusing on overall health from the beginning. By focusing on shame, blame, and the evils of processed food, they are alienating the people that would benefit the most from their principles of healthy eating and exercise. No one wants to be told that they are fat, lazy, and to blame for their condition in life. If people are empowered to change, instead of being embarrassed into it, they are more likely to maintain a lifestyle change.

I believe that there are better ways than a sensationalized "reality" show, and a national campaign, to change how middle America thinks about food. Being condescending and overemotional isn't one of them, and Jamie should really look at why it's so hard to get people to listen to him.

I watched this and sort of felt bad for the guy. It didn't seem like he was being rude or condescending to anyone. I'm sure the school agreed under some terms to allow the show to film there so I don't understand why they were all so grumpy. I really don't understand how the "lunch ladies" got offended by that term and insisted on being called cooks. What exactly did they cook? Looked like all they were doing was making instant mashed potatoes and reheating boxed food.

This article about HS kids demanding better food was just published in the Chicago Tribune last night: http://bit.ly/aPuQTo

Don't know if these kids' actions had anything to do with Food Revolution.

Really? Offended at being called a 'lunch lady'? I wish people would research cultural terms before getting pissed...I am from the uk and yes we call our 'school cooks' (you say?) dinner ladies and or lunch ladies. No offense intended or and none taken if memory serves me correctly.

Lets face it there DOES need to be a food revolution in the US and not just for the school kids , but hey its a great place to start, as they have had less years/chance to consume the crap that many adults daily shove down their gullets.

How successful Jamie will be goodness knows, its up to individuals to make a choice and its a big BIG and pervasive industry one is up against. I used to work for a flavours company and trust me...seeing what 'products' contained our 'ingredients' certainly made me think twice about my weekly purchases, driving me back into the kitchen to make most things from scratch.

Is it difficult to make 'healthy food' when poor? Absolutely, like it is difficult for many other things when poor. I grew up poor, on a council estate and in a household with many many mouths to feed. Both my parents worked full time too. BUT we grew some of our own stuff in the garden and we ate organic as often as possible. GASP! My parents were raised in rural towns and living in the city with a big family did what they could to eat right. I do remember eating chocolate one or twice a month and that was a super treat. It depends on where and what you choose to sacrifice. That being said, today, things have changed and food being the business it is..isn't easy to buy 'decent produce' at a good price in every US state i'm sure.

But this doesn't negate the need for a change. We could all sit back on our laurels and let things keep happening as they are. But isn't that somewhat defeatist?

I didn't see the Jamie bit on W VA, but am curious, for those of you from WVA if it is easier to get fresh produce there as the parts i've visited were somewhat rural...and I met a lot of people selling their own grown veggies and what not at the side of the road. Just curious..

saer
http://cravenmaven.wordpress.com

GretaGrace - I'm not an expert in any truly relevant areas (I'm not even that great of a cook lol) but off the top of my head, why doesn't he lobby Congress for more subsidies for farms growing real food and not the factory farms growing crap for HFCS. He could lobby the USDA and dept. of education for better regulations on school meals. They're the ones making the decisions, not the people making the meals in school kitchens. He could focus more on going into actual homes and community centers to teach people how make tasty, cheap, and healthy food (like he did to that one family, only on a greater scale). Kids spend more time at home than they do in school once you factor in holiday and summer vacations, that's where real change is going to come. Obviously I was exaggerating when I said there were a million ways to improve people's eating habits, but a sensationalistic show that doesn't even air at a time when kids would be watching (I mean really, why not air the show at 8:00 or on a weekend if they truly want kids to see?) doesn't work for me.

That being said, he's not hurting anything (except maybe the feelings of the lunch cooks) and it seems like a lot of people disagree with me. That's fine. I didn't like the show and I honestly don't think it'll do anything, but I'd be absolutely thrilled if I was eventually proved wrong.

Lunch lady is not an uncommon term in the US either. We called them that or cafeteria ladies when I was a kid. Doris on the Simpsons is a lunch lady.

I hope this makes an impact, but the cynical part of me thinks that this will just be a reality TV circus and nothing more.

Thinking back about the crap I ate in grade school, I recall that school lunches were my first introduction to corndogs, onion rings, and steak fingers. My parents never served me such foods prior to that.

My high school briefly had a salad bar, but they took it away in favor of a Taco Bell bar. Does that make sense to you? It seemed to me like our school district valued franchise money over promoting healthy eating habits.

Certainly the problems of impoverished people will not be fixed with a TV series and school lunches can only REALLY be fixed with better policy. What a TV program can do is draw attention to choices people can make to be healthier. It can be a start. Too many people have just caved to the idea of convenience without giving thought to the long term consequences.

Again, I'm not talking about people below the poverty line, but people like my sister, mother of two, who feeds the kids nuggets because they're fast, easy and cheap. I suggested my nephew try a roasted potato once, and he asked if he could spit it out. His sister came to visit for the weekend and brought six blue boxes of mac 'n' cheese to be sure she had something she liked to eat. By the way, I'm a food writer and cooking instructor.

When Oliver went into a home and discovered that everything was either deep fried or highly-processed and frozen, my heart ached for the children in that family. Parents need to step up to their responsibility and make meal preparation an important part of family life. For middle class people, there's room in the budget for the occasional carrot.

As someone who is from WV (in the eastern panhandle ... completely different from more rural parts of the state) Jamie and his experience in the schools isn't far from the truth. People get offended and defensive about their ways.

A lot of what I saw in their refrigerators and freezers is what I grew up with for the most part. Lot's of "Banquet" pot pies, hot dogs, instant mashed potatoes, canned veggies. Slowly, my parent's purchases have changed. For me, going to college and out on my own changed my eating habits.

I think it has to do with healthy options not being available or affordable and people pick what is cheaper and "easier." I hope Jamie will open their eyes to the country and especially my home state to help people make better choices, even if it means changing habits.

I must have missed the part where this town was "impoverished." I think the point is that this town is representative of how MOST Americans eat...

But you can't have ANY discussion about weight and health and just talk about food. It's got to include exercise, too.

I will not claim to be an expert on the subject, but my husband works as a chef consultant to a large public school system trying to bring healthier food to the middle schools. The issue is clearly not the lunch ladies- as pointed out by someone else, they are only making a predetermined menu that has been created by a nutritionist- and even in this major city, no chef was consulted until very recently.

The problem has to do with the government. The government gives subsidies for school lunches by providing a set dollar amount of funds per child that qualifies for federal aid. The government also provides commodities of food stuffs that have to be used by the school district if they want to continue to receive the subsidy in the future. My husband will come home and tell about how all of sudden a call will come down from the school district's food requisition area saying that they have to use up 50 cases of canned peaches or canned carrots- because if they don't, they won't be able to continue to receive commodities and the financial aid that comes along with it. There is little in the way of fresh food being sent to the schools. The amount of reform that needs to done is absolutely staggering.

I watched the preview for the show and I enjoyed it. Jamie Oliver has valid points and while there is some trumped up drama, the show provides a large platform for something that really does need to happen. There are people lobbying congress for change, but Jamie's not a lobbyist, he a TV personality and I commend him for his contribution.

My sense from watching the preview was that after he spent some time in the school he was going to go out into the community more.

change is hard, but maybe this will get folks thinking about things. We'll be following along to see how this works out.

Reminds me of the story of the boy and the starfish. He may not change every single person in town, but he'll make a difference to some. And that counts!

there are lots of assumptions on here without anyone reading the actual study.

which i cannot seem to figure out how to find. I've gotten to the abstract w/ graphs but that's it so far.

Now i need to get back to my job and hopefully remember to look at this more at home.

whoops wrong thread! moderators can delete the above comment.

wrong thread with my above comment.

Some have complained here about Oliver being condescending and rude. Well, is there any polite way of saying, hey, you're overweight and eat a very unhealthy diet? No? If no one stepped in, what's going to prevent these kids from eating this way all their lives, falling victim to a host of medical issues as consequence? I do think there's something deeply wrong with feeding kids a diet composed exclusively of highly processed "food".

Even if you're poor, there are other options aside from chicken nuggets and pizza (which, seriously, aren't THAT cheap.) I think what Jamie is doing is fantastic, and I fully support his activism.

If nothing else, get rid of the flavored milk in the schools. The shot of the cereal with pink milk was disgusting. "Real" milk doesn't cost any more.

Sarah Berneche I love your post!!

saer
http://cravenmaven.wordpress.com

My nutrition professor was also the director of food service for a local school district, so I heard a lot about how hard it is to get anything good, fresh or local into a school caf and then getting the kids to eat it afterward. I think it is good that the crap schools are feeding kids is getting publicity, but it is going to take a major, major change in the way the system works (and what is available to schools, both in terms of product and $$) for things to get better.

But then, I agree with the guy that this isn't just about what these kids eat in school. If all you've eaten for years is canned veggies and chicken nuggets, that is a difficult rut to get out of. Exposure to different foods as a kid means a lot, I think. But then, I balk at the 'omg, deathfat' thing. So, I dunno how this show will end up. I guess if it does some good, then yay?

For the commenter above who asked about the "shorter life span" stuff - that same stat was used in the Jaime's British show, and I am not sure if he is referencing different research for this one. That said, here is a link to a NYTimes article where the same findings are refernced: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/health/17obese.html

It's from 2005, but it states pretty clearly that larger number of obese children today (compared with 30 years ago) will lead the generation to have a shorter average life span because of ovvbesity related deaths.

I forgot to mention that during college I worked in what was considered to be an upscale restaurant in the community.

The restaurant, based upon its reputation, was asked to be the foodservice provider for the local daycares. In the morning, I would read the daycare menu for the day, "prepare" the food and then deliver it to the daycares.

How ironic that the fancy restaurant in town was providing the meals because the meals came from mostly #10 cans! We basically just cracked cans, reheated and boiled. I was trying to think of one thing that was actually made in house and all I could think of was spaghetti sauce. Not sure if we were supposed to make it as opposed to buying one already prepared but my supervisor was proud of her spaghetti sauce and made extra that day for us to have as lunch.

We basically just showed the school meal calendar to the foodservice salesperson and they ordered everything that we needed. Isn't that what good food is all about?

art, your comment confused the hell outta me. are you saying you prepared meals for the upscale restaurant out of cans or for the kids? and why were you asked to provide foodservice for the daycare again?

sorry if i'm not reading that right....

I definitely support what Jamie's doing, but there were parts of the show that made me roll my eyes a bit. There's a lot of drama rolled in, but if that gets people to watch and absorb, it's not a bad thing.

I don't know how school food is governed in the UK, but I don't have a lot of faith that our understaffed, underfunded public schools in the US will be able to make changes for the positive. The fact that there is a requirement that a school lunch contain two starches should be a fairly eye opening indicator that there's something wrong on a much, much higher level.

@Madinat, sorry for the confusion! The restaurant I worked at was essentially given the contract to cook the food for the daycares. Why the job wasn't given to an Aramark or something like that I don't know. So it was kind of funny that I was heating up processed riblets in the morning and plating prime rib and lobster tails at night. And opening lots of cans.

ack! scratch the "opening lots of cans." Now I'm confusing myself.

I think the comments about condescending and rude are interesting. I didn't get that at all, unless you call the healthy dose of bad attitude from the lunch ladies rude. I'm sure that was mostly set up, because obviously they have zero control over what is served other than to open boxes and cans and reheat. The whipped dog vibe they all gave off says a lot about the system overall, I think.

I couldn't stop wondering what corporate food fat cats are getting rich and what government agencies are in their pockets looking at all that processed crap. THIS is the real problem.

The show was overkill, invented drama to be sure, but the message was 100% there and if that's what it takes for people to watch and pay attention, then I'm all for it.
Hopefully we'll get to see more about how and why our schools ended up processed foodsville (and who is getting rich because of it).

I don't understand why people have so much judgement on a person/show that is trying to help and improve the situation...
Go Jamie!

I am definitely for the concept of improving the school lunches and helping people learn about better choices, and I can see how having a national show about it can shed light onto the problem. But frankly, Jamie Oliver is somewhat self-important and tactless. This was obvious during his little breakdown, in which he says, They don't understand me...I've done some amazing things, etc etc.

On the "lunch ladies" point, regardless of whatever cultural differences might have contributed to that, Jamie Oliver should have picked up on the VERY obvious cues that the woman he was talking to was offended by that label. If he was trying to get her on his side, how hard would it have been to make the very small effort not to call her that? Not that hard. But he plowed on through.

A little tact goes a long way.

yes, change needs to happen on the govt level as it seemed the schools hands were tied. and I agree with what most everyone on here says. The main point is we all need to eat better and not rely on convenience foods. And teach our kids that. I am torn between not liking the "reality showiness" of it and thinking that it's brilliant they did that because that is what a lot of people are watching these days. People will watch it and argue about it and love to hate this person or that person. Did anyone see him on Letterman last night?

saeras said it best - it's a great place to start. though most of the people who read The Kitchn know this stuff already.

This is what I really think about feeding kids and families: When I had my first kid we were broke. And I had no idea how to cook. I started cooking a lot from scratch because I was under the impression that was more economical. I found the so called "poor people" store had way better prices and better produce. As my kids have gotten a little older I can honestly say that we eat healthier when money is tight. I will slice up a cucumber and serve it along side some plain noodles and a little bit of meat. a banana is a snack or a cut up apple. a slice of cheese. a quesadilla. a half cup of old fashioned popcorn makes a giant bowl to snack on as opposed to the bag of Dorito's that's eaten up fast. I also have always made their lunch for school - partly because I thought it was cheaper and partly because I'm a control freak and want to know what they're eating.
When money is flowing a little more freely, I find myself buying the frozen dinosaur chicken and the tator tots. And eating out more.
Recently my husband brought home a box of Cocoa Rice Crispies. The kids were elated. I was pissed. A few days go by and I run out of Cheerios. I give in and for a few days in a row I sent them to school after eating the sugary stuff. Nothing happened and I'm thinking maybe this stuff isn't so bad. Then my husband tells me that my son told him he was so starving in class BEFORE a.m. snack that he thought he was going to pass out. I ask did that ever happen before? "No." Coincidence? I think not.
Okay, I'm going to end my rant here. Even though I have A LOT more to say on this subject!

One more thing...I smell an SNL spoof in this somewhere.

I live in WV, and so our local NPR station covered this issue. After Jamie visited, they did actually make policy changes regarding school lunches. Now they are attempting to use more local produce, and they've pledged not to get food from CISCO anymore. So while the community did seem insulted by the whole thing, at least it seems some good came out of it.

Someone above wondered why Oliver was "attacking" the lunch ladies and working at the school level when they suggested he should be lobbying the government because the problem is systematic. Well, the show is called "Food Revolution" and revolutions start from the bottom up when those who benefit from a potential revolution are given the tools to change the system.

Jamie is going to the children, the lowest level of people in our society, the ones with the least power, and helping them learn about what food is (things that require reconstitution and are synthesized from a variety of food like substances and then boxed up are not really food at all, which is a huge part of the problem) and showing everyone in a very practical way, how better nutrition will benefit people (the UK show demonstrated better attention, lessening of discipline problems, better health...). He is providing cooking lessons. He's going into people's homes and helping them find a way to eat real foods by teaching them what options are available, how to prepare them and how they will benefit from making those changes. That's a heck of a revolutionary leader!

I can totally understand where he comes from. When I had kids, it politicized me. In wanting to provide the best that I could in my circumstances to my children, I was shocked at how badly I and many people eat. I'm pretty sure the same thing has happened to Jamie. And, he's in a fantastic position as a celebrity to be able to use that to help people.

It was sad watching the preview show and seeing how incredibly rude and myopic people were, how unwilling to give Oliver the benefit of the doubt they were and how committed to their ignorance they were, willing to sacrifice themselves on the alter self-determination when someone dared to say, "I can give you the tools to live a happier and healthier life."

Oliver is challenging the staff to stop being cogs in the wheel that crushes them, to stand up and push back against a system where the citizens, the children, are not the ones being served, but being used as a dumping ground for what essentially is the garbage of the food and ag business. The system actually services ag biz like Monsanto, Dupont, Cargill, ConAgra......... Basically, Oliver has walked up to the folks of this town and said, "You are in an abusive relationship and you need to leave it because it is destroying you. Let me give you the info you need to leave it."

jbull, amen!

I watched Sunday night and thought it was fascinating. School-food reformers for years have faced resistance from parents/cooks who view criticism of school food as criticism of themselves (since they might not eat much better at home). But schools and the USDA have got to stop treating kids like mindless eating machines who aren't worthy of real food. Yes, it's Hollywood, but so what? Oliver has a highly visible platform to get the word out, and I say more power to him. Just wrote about the show (and specifically its critics) on my Spoonfed blog, which is about raising kids to think about the food they eat: http://spoonfedblog.net/2010/03/21/talking-bout-a-revolution/

Amen Hamilton! No wonder kids are suffering so many behavior problems when even the food they eat is filled with additives, fats and sugar! I watched the show and while it's too histrionic for me, this country is desperate for this information, and anything is better than the swill these kids are getting.

We grew up with a modest income and an avid cook. We ate little meat, lots of grains, and my mom volunteered at the local food coop and learned a lot (she also had her seaweed period). While we begged for oreos, we got fruit and raisens. I thought we were weird, but now I realize how lucky I was to eat so well so early.

In elementary school, we were given mostly frozen food, but it wasn't horribly unhealthy... just... unpleasant. Our 'good' days were still-frozen chicken nuggets.

Occasionally there would be odd looking chunks of cardboardy junk with a layer of rubber that they called "pizza", but at least there were days of fruit, pita, broccoli, pepperoni sticks, juice, milk, etc.

Otherwise I wouldn't have food at all so couldn't really complain. At home it was canned this and that, a piece of meat or some vegetable that was boiled to death.

At high school, I don't even know what there was because only the first fifty students (out of 1700) to arrive actually got anything. We could go out and get "meal tickets" that were good for a couple of dollars worth of food, but we couldn't get unhealthy food with them.

On one hand, that's awesome! On the other hand, after the first fifty kids, there's nothing but fries left. No fries = no food. And with no breakfast and no lunch for me, and couldn't eat anything after school without getting yelled at... Well, I lost a lot of weight that's for sure!

I have school-age children and the school offerings are pretty sad. Usually my kids take lunch from home. The simplest things -- peanut butter on wheat bread, string cheese, a piece of fruit -- are so much better than what the school offers. If my middle schooler eats school lunch, he comes home ravenous. If my 10-yr old eats school lunch on a regular basis, he has stomach aches.

I appreciate the comments about poverty, but the family highlighted in the episode spent plenty of money on food. Perhaps every family can't eat organic salads and meat, but whole grains, beans, and eggs, for instance, are cheap-- also frozen vegetables. Some fruit that is reasonably priced each season. Prpackaged convenience is the culprit -- and those who market this so aggresively to schools should be held accountable.

Children do become accustomed to what they are regularly served as do we all. One of the interesting things we found at a ministry to homeless people, was that we could put out a bowl of fruit and it would spoil before it was eaten. Good habits take a while to develop.
Slowing our culture down, community and classroom gardens, cooking with others in our communities and families-- these are the beautiful things of life so many people are missing today.

Any wake-up call to America should be welcomed. Of course it is commercial TV. Wouldn't it be nice if it helped fix some of the problems it may have helped cause?

Long comment, sorry. This has me riled.

The USDA standards the school uses to measure nutritional completeness are just SO inadequate. Requiring "Two breads, a meat, and a veg" is completely meaningless.

It makes me think of the Alabama Sheriff in Morgan County, Greg Bartlett, who was legally required to provide to prisoners food that met the minimum standard, and was entitled to pocket any unspent funds. In three years, he kept as personal income over $200,000 of surplus meal money by feeding inmates skimpy, but USDA-compliant meals. So inmates purchased junk food from the jail canteen to stave off their hunger. (Justice FTW: In the end, Bartlett was forced to stay in his own jail and eat the food he provided to his wards.)

Ugh. Those USDA guidelines seem worse than useless. Dog food is required to conform to a better standard! Reading the labels on my pet's food, the nutritional information includes descriptive terms with the measurements, so that protein and fiber meet or exceed MINIMUM requirements, carbohydrates and fat do not exceed allowable maximums ... that's ambiguous but more meaningful than baloney=meat and pizza=bread veg.

"Pizza ... (is) a bread, a red, and a green." Just gross. And offensive. In a school!!! Even if that quote is just an an oversimplified shorthand for a nutritionally sophisticated system, there's nothing in the show that suggests the school "nutritionists" following the government standards give a damn about adequate fiber, and limits on sugar, saturated sand trans fats, or unhealthy food additives.

I get why they do it. To meet the stated goals of satisfying USDA "nutritional standards," and palatability, they serve frozen (everything) and sacrifice variety, taste and nutrition. They alluded to cost and convenience as considerations.

Consider their unstated goals ... avoiding food-borne illness (hence freezer-to-oven food), avoiding potential injury and choking hazards (chicken bones, hm?), and things that can trigger people with food allergies. There are numerous other risks (misuse of equipment, spills, etc.) the caf avoids by using convenience foods. It doesn't produce good food, but their current practices have some value to the institution. (Cost savings, avoiding risk, avoiding "waste".)

In the TV show, those lunch ladies were gagging at fresh, bone-in chicken and complaining about prepping with bare hands. To me, this indicates ignorance of food safety practices required in a commercial kitchen. They're not going to begin cooking from fresh, nor SHOULD they until they know how to prevent cross-contamination, sanitize surfaces, check temps, maintain dates, and all the rest you have to do when you work with real food. Adequate training could cost a lot of time and money the school district doesn't have.

Jamie's meeting such resistance, and while what he's trying to do is very beneficial, there are just so many obstacles. I believe in what he's doing, and I am not in favor of anyone serving or eating like this. I also hope this show has magnified the misunderstandings and drama, and that people involved can get the message. He's a good chef, and a good human. And this is pretty good TV if it gets people thinking and doing better in their (and the community's) kitchens.

He might have gotten less pushback from the caf workers by introducing some bean entrees instead of raw meat, or by making healthful substitutions for the flour and sugar and fatty junk. But then it wouldn't be a Food Revolution, but Food Incrementalism.

Good luck, Jamie, and GoodBurger.

he's got some guts coming in as a foreigner and trying to "revolutionize" the way middle america views food. and i totally commend him for his efforts. so what that it's a TV reality show? as reality shows go i'd say this is on the higher end of the spectrum. at least it's stirring up conversation and he's bringing in ideas to communities of people that aren't really exposed to the whole "healthy eating" movement, or who perceive it as restricted to the upper echelons on society for people who are more educated or can afford organic food.
so more props to him for walking into the fire and saying hey you guys are entitled to healthy eating too.
it being a tv show too allows it to reach more people, what do you think the general demographic is of michael pollan readers?
i feel he is genuine in his efforts and belief and thus will make a change in a significant number of people.
go jamie!

Jamie is doing something that really does need to be done, and I am hopeful to see how well he can do it. It's not about weight, it's about overall health, which can't be reached eating the type of "food products" (which have little actual food in them) these kids consume at nearly every meal.

He and Michelle Obama are using their reach for good, and I and my family are completely behind them. Viva la revolucion de comida! :)

I fully back Jaime's mission %120.

Change or die people, is it almost that simple to comprehend?

I don't care if Jamie is from another planet! The school food debacle needs a cure. Obviously, parents should be in charge of what their children eat. If the parents don't know what their children are eating, they need to find out. What good is a cheap lunch when there is no nutrition? As far as I'm concerned, junk food in public schools is just plain abusive to the children.

The kids didn't know what a potato was... A POTATO!!!!
ya know - what their french fries were made of... wow

Kudos to the teacher who took it upon herself to teach the kids a nice array of veggies - she deserves a raise!

I've got to say, as a Canadian, the whole concept of school lunches is totally foreign to me! I brought a lunch to school every single day. Unless we were having a pizza or hot dog day... which occurred something like once a month, and we had to pay for our own food. The only time I had access to a cafeteria was in high school... and that had very little selection, and kids only bought lunches there as a treat or when they forgot theirs. Do all school kids in the US get fed by the school?

The reason calling cafeteria workers in the US 'dinner ladies' is so patronising is exactly BECAUSE it is such a culturally specific term. It's arrogant to not even bother to find out the correct terminology before you go to a country.

I'm betting Jamie knew this all along anyway. You gotta create the animosity and drama at the beginning, otherwise there's no one to win over.

And for the record, he was just as patronising in 'Jamie's School Dinners' or whatever the original version was called. He is patronising. He is arrogant. Look at Gordon Ramsay.

It's the same kind of idea - let's change the world through food. The whole premise is that these guys know it all and everyday peoplewho don't have/make the time to worry about this stuff, don't.

This has been said re: the Bitch Ph.D link, but I want to reiterate: The majority of the families in Huntington, W.Va., are not THAT poor. They might qualify for free- or reduced-cost school meals, but that doesn't mean they don't have properly functioning kitchens. Now some of the towns in West Virginia's southern coal fields might be another story, I don't know, but Huntington is the state's second largest city. Not everyone in West Virginia is Jed Clampett. But I digress. There is definitely a point to be made about generational poverty and food culture in America, but to suggest that these people are not in a position to help themselves is just as condescending as disregarding the poverty issue altogether.

My biggest problem with the series was the simple over-dramatization. Jamie Oliver is pretty correct in his diagnosis of the problem and his approach to fixing it: education. The problem came with embarrassing an entire city on national television and undermining his own authority with made-for-TV moments. Too much personality, not enough substance. But then, hey, it's TV.